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The storm door shut in her face, her mother already buried in planning. Kendall sagged. Maybe she could work with what she had. She gazed down at the two bundles at her feet and knew they wouldn’t make it around the other side of the wraparound porch.
“You can do this, Kendall. He’s just a man.” She curled her fingers into her palms and made her way down the side steps. The crunch of snow under her boots sounded loud in the dense silence of the meadow behind the house.
She made her way up the small hill to the barn. The back door was open, and the shriek of a skill saw greeted her. Shane had a navy thermal shirt on, the cuffs pushed back at his elbow. His back muscles bunched and flowed as he patiently worked the blade through a long board. A pile of similar cuts was stacked neatly against the wall.
For the first time she got a look at what he’d truly done with the barn. He’d completely converted it into a work space. Steel shelves lined the back wall with bins organized by season, some labeled by her, some in what had to be his handwriting. Instead of rummaging into the Christmas corner like she usually did, all she had to do was go over and pull the Xmas decorations bin down.
A sturdy wooden ladder led to the small loft that had been their catchall storage. A soft glow from a lamp illuminated the queen-size mattress on a low frame, her old college dorm fridge, and a table.
He didn’t need to stay outside in the barn. She had perfectly good rooms for him inside the house. Although it was surprisingly warm and cozy in a rustic way. Under the loft there were stacks of chairs, the skeleton of an eight-foot table, as well as a cart full of stains and sandpaper blocks.
Shane dominated the space in the middle, working through strip upon strip of the unusual Hawaiian wood.
Of course that meant she had to walk by him. She took a steadying breath and lifted her chin. This was just as much her space as it was his. She made a beeline for the wall of shelves and stood on her tiptoes. She managed to only jimmy the decorations bin out a few inches.
Dammit, she was too short.
She looked for a ladder, spotting it by the door. The scrape of the bin coming off the shelf made her whirl around.
Shane stood behind her, holding it. “Where do you want it?”
She grabbed for the handles. “I can carry it.”
He looked down at her, his eyes more green than hazel today. “Where do you want it?”
Unwilling to argue, she shrugged. “The porch.”
He left without a word, and she sneered at his back. She followed him outside and across the yard to the stairs. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Instead of going back to the barn, he walked the length of the porch, his arms crossed over his chest. “Looks good.”
Was he actually making conversation? “Um, thanks. We’re getting ready for some guests.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I think we have you to thank. Evidently the updated the Web site worked.”
He jammed his hands into his pockets. “When I went on the computer in the den, it was already signed into your design page. I just took a few pictures of the improvements and the lake after the snowstorm. It’s pretty as a postcard when there’s a foot of snow on the ground.”
She stiffened. She’d thought the same thing, but hearing him say it the same way rankled. The Heron might not be perfect, but it had a lot of charm. She swallowed back a snotty response. “Well, whatever you did netted us a four-room booking.”
“Nice. Do you need anything done before they come?”
She rubbed the heel of her hand against her thigh. “I need to go into town and get a Christmas tree. It’d be easier to throw it in the back of your truck.”
“Let me just clean up, and we’ll go.”
The easy acquiescence surprised her. “Great. Thanks.”
“I need to get a few things anyway.”
The quick flash of disappointment pissed her off. She pasted on a bright smile. “I’ll see if Mom needs anything.”
“Lily always needs something from town.”
She gave a quick laugh. “Ain’t that the truth.” Kendall crouched, forgetting just how sore she still was. She sucked back a hiss of pain as she flipped the top off the bin.
He frowned down at her. “You all right?”
